England remain trapped by their own inhibitions

Let’s not kid ourselves. Peter Crouch’s remarkable knack for scoring in international football made this 2-1 defeat to France seem less one-sided than it actually was. Remember for a moment that this is a French side has lost to Norway and Belarus since the World Cup and, under Laurent Blanc, is in the midst of transition.

The thing with the French is that they decided to really break with the team that embarrassed the country in South Africa. It has been painful at times but they have decided that the end – a team that plays with style and confidence – justifies the means. And it means taking risks not just with individuals but, most crucially, with the team. England have not done that. There were some new faces but they still play with a conservatism bordering on the pathological.

It is still there, the fear. That is not just down to having new caps – there were inexperienced players throughout the French team – but to the whole mindset. There were a host of problems with this England performance but the most pressing issue is systemic. The whole set up of the team is desperate.

As ever, it starts at the back. The defence was far too deep which meant when possession was recovered – and that looked challenging enough in the first 20 minutes – the gaps between defence and midfield, and midfield and attack were huge. When you add a barely suppressed panic in possession you get one result – the long ball.

Not only is the reversion to the brainless ball forward a reductive way of playing but England do not even do it well. With both teams static they chipped the ball to Andy Carroll, who could do little but try to flick the ball on, 40 yards from goal – what was the best possible thing that could happen? What poverty of imagination to put Carroll in that position time and again.

It was a waste. Anyone who has seen Carroll this season will tell you that he is at his most dangerous attacking crosses. Until the 53rd minute there had not be any crosses at all. In the 70th minute Steven Gerrard finally gave him one to attack.

Aside from the habitual punts, there is the old problem of the lack of tactical intelligence with the England players. Lack of sharp movement is an issue – the French zipped about impressively – but even worse is the lack of anticipation.

Too many players, and Gareth Barry (who admittedly had to go off with an ankle injury) is perhaps the worst offender, do not seem to think ahead. Sure they are diligent and hard working but they wait until they have trapped the ball before making their decision on where it should go next. The same goes for attacking runs, or making defensive interceptions (fear is another inhibitor here).

The positives? Aside from another impressive performance from James Milner and the late rally there were few. Maybe this: this game should have a profound effect on the young players Capello has brought in. It has shown them how steep the learning curve is in international football. If it brings the humility to work as hard as Milner on improving themselves it will be far more valuable than sweeping past second-rank opposition in a qualifier. You hope.